But who will it be? Some have suggested a manager in their minor-league system, men who have worked with the players, both major-league and minor-league, in Spring Training, who already know the system and most of the players:
* Alfredo "Al" Pedrique, who won Pennants with the Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders in 2016 and 2017.
* Bobby Mitchell, who won a Division with the Class AA Trenton Thunder this year.
* Jay Bell, the former major league infielder (including against the Yankees for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series), who managed the Class A Tampa Yankees this season.
* Pat Osborn, who managed the Class A Charleston RiverDogs of South Carolina this season.
* Julio Mosquera, who won a Division with the Class A Staten Island Yankees this season.
It's also been suggested that a current or recent Yankee coach might get the job: Don Mattingly, Willie Randolph, Tony Pena, Rob Thomson, Joe Espada. Chris Woodward, now a coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers, with no connection to the Yankees (but played under Randolph on the Mets), has also been mentioned.
It's also been suggested that it might be a recent Yankee player: Current MLB broadcasters Alex Rodriguez, David Cone, Aaron Boone, John Flaherty, or Jerry Hairston Jr.; Raul Ibanez, now working in the Los Angeles Dodgers' front office; Carlos Beltrán, who just retired as a player having won the World Series with the Houston Astros; or, if you want to go back that far, a Yankee prospect of the 1980s, once every bit as hyped as Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier are today, Hensley "Bam-Bam" Meulens, now the bench coach of the San Francisco Giants.
Also suggested: Former major league managers John Farrell and Eric Wedge. And, in a far less serious suggestion, made by the man himself, WFAN host Mike Francesa.
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These seem to be general manager Brian Cashman's criteria:
* A company man, or someone willing to become one. That is, don't make waves, and don't make yourself the story. "Making waves" would seem to eliminate Coney. "Making yourself the story," intentionally or otherwise, obviously eliminates A-Rod and Donnie Regular Season Baseball.
* Someone young, who can better relate to young players. So much for Randolph, despite the fact that he took a Met team not as good as the current Yankee team to within 1 run of a Pennant.
* Someone even-tempered. This was one area where Girardi would still qualify. But it would also eliminate A-Rod.
* And someone who knows the players. This is why the most-discussed names seem to be Beltrán, Pena, Thomson, Pedrique and Bell.
If you think about it, the Yankees' 2 biggest failings were not having one more reliable starting pitcher, and not hitting at key times. It's Cashman's job to find that one more starter (a problem he caused by trading away Ivan Nova last year and getting Jaime Garcia instead of Justin Verlander this year). But the hitting? A smart, not just relatable, guy is needed.
Someone like Beltrán. Young (40). Good hitter (2,725 hits, including 435 home runs). Good runner (312 stolen bases). A native Spanish speaker, but his English is very good. And not a controversial guy: The biggest controversy of his career was his not swinging at a called 3rd strike to end the Mets' 2006 season.
Ladies and gentlemen, if I'm picking the next Yankee manager, based on Cashman's criteria, it's Carlos Beltrán.
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Days until The Arsenal play again: 2, on Saturday afternoon at 12:30 PM our time, home to Manchester United. They beat newly-promoted Yorkshire club Huddersfield Town 5-0 yesterday.
Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 9, a week from this Saturday, at 7:00, against the New York Rangers at the Prudential Center in Newark. Their 1st game against the New York Islanders will be on Sunday, January 7, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Their 1st game against the Philadelphia Flyers will be on Saturday, January 13, 2018, at the Prudential Center.
Days until the Alex Rodriguez Contract From Hell officially runs out, and the Yankees can spend his salary on new players: 31, on Sunday, December 31. Just 1 month.
Days until Phil Murphy is inaugurated as Governor of New Jersey: 47, on Tuesday, January 16, 2018. Under 7 weeks. Goodbye, Chris Christie, and stay out.
Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 59, on Sunday night, January 28, 2018, a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina (that's 1 country), at the StubHub Center in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. Under 2 months. After that, no matches are scheduled. They were supposed to play at the World Cup in June 2018. Alas...
Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Pyeongchang, Korea: 71, on February 9, 2018. A little over 10 weeks.
Days until the next North London Derby: 72, on Saturday, February 10, 2018, at Wembley Stadium in West London, where Spurs are playing their "home games" until the new stadium they're building on the site of White Hart Lane opens the following August. Two things could change this day-count: The game could be moved due to the British TV networks' demands, or Arsenal could be drawn to play Spurs in the FA Cup, which would be the weekend of January 6 (if it's in the 3rd Round) or that of January 27 (if it's in the 4th Round). The 4th Round would be the weekend of February 17, after the next scheduled Derby.
Days until the Red Bulls play again: Unknown. Usually, the Major League Soccer season begins on the 1st Sunday in March, which would be March 4, which would be 94 days from now. A little over 3 months.
Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": Unknown, although the season opener is rarely a derby, so it probably won't be against either New York City FC, the Philadelphia Union, D.C. United or the New England Revolution.
Days until Opening Day of the 2018 Major League Baseball season: 119, on Thursday night, March 29, as the Yankees open away to the Toronto Blue Jays. A little under 4 months.
Days until the Yankees' 2018 home opener: 123, on Monday afternoon, April 2, against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 131, on Tuesday, April 10, 2018, at Fenway Park.
Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 196, on June 14, 2018. A little over 6 months. But the U.S. team won't be playing. At least now, Donald Trump doesn't have to choose, and can root for his favorite country, the host nation, Russia.
Days until September 2018 roster call-ups, when we can finally start to expect seeing most of these wonderful "prospects" that Yankee general manager Brian Cashman wanted: 275. Just 9 months.
Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 275, on Saturday, September 1, home to Texas State University. Their loss to Michigan State this past Saturday left them 4-8 on the season, although it did include 3 Big Ten wins: At Illinois, and home to Purdue and Maryland.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown. The 2018 schedule hasn't been released yet. But the season opener is usually on the 1st Friday in September. that would be September 7, which is 281 days from now.
Days until the next Congressional election, when we can elect a Democratic Congress that can impeach and remove Donald Trump from the Presidency: 341, on November 6, 2018. A little over 11 months.
Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 352, on Saturday, November 17, 2018, at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. A little under 1 year.
Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving high school football game (after tomorrow's): 357, on Thursday, November 22, 2018.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 394, on January 9, 2019. A little over a year, or a little over 13 months.
Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 543, on June 7, 2019, in France. A little over a year and a half, or a little over 18 months. The U.S. team, as 3-time and defending Champions, has, as usual, a better chance than the men's team would have had in 2018 anyway.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 758, on January 8, 2020. A little over 2 years, or a little over 25 months.
Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 956, on July 24, 2020. A little over 2 1/2 years, or a little under 32 months.
Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 1,058, on November 3, 2020. Under 3 years, or a little over 35 months.
Days until Liberation Day: 1,146, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little over 3 years, or a little under 38 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.
Days until the next World Cup for which the American team will be eligible is scheduled to kick off: 1,806, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 5 years, or 60 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.
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